A 35-year-old Karuizawa from sherry cask #6412, distilled in 1981 and bottled in 2017 at 57.7%. The glass carries a 3D laser engraving of a Japanese snow scene by the American pop artist Charles Fazzino, and the cask gave 505 bottles.
About This Whisky
Fazzino is known for layered, three-dimensional pop art, and here the design is cut into the bottle itself rather than printed on a label, so the winter landscape shows through the whisky. The bottle came in a lacquered presentation case that locks with a key. Inside is a classic 1981 Karuizawa: 35 years in sherry wood, bottled at natural strength with no reduction.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Raisin, prune and old sherry oak, with incense, beeswax and a little dark chocolate.
- Palate: Full and oily. Dried fig, date and bitter orange, then clove, cocoa and polished wood.
- Finish: Long and gently drying, with resin, dried fruit and warm spice.
Serving & Food
Pour a modest measure into a copita at room temperature and let the glass rest before the first sip. At 57.7% a teaspoon of cool water helps the fruit show. Pair with a slice of dark fruit cake, aged Mimolette or roast duck with cherries.
How to Enjoy
A dark 1981 Karuizawa sherry cask, in a bottle that works as a piece of art in its own right.
Product Details
Distillery: Karuizawa (closed)
Country: Japan
Region: Miyota, Nagano
Category: Single cask Japanese single malt whisky
Distilled: 1981
Bottled: 2017
Age: 35 years
Cask: Sherry cask #6412
Edition Size: 505 bottles
Artwork: 3D laser engraving by Charles Fazzino
Presentation: Lockable lacquered case
ABV: 57.7%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Karuizawa began as an offshoot of a wine business. Daikoku Budoshu, a winemaker, built the distillery in 1955 beside its existing winery in Miyota, on the southern slopes of Mount Asama in Nagano, and the first spirit ran in 1956. For decades most of the malt was blended into the company's Ocean whiskies rather than sold under its own name.
The firm later became Mercian, and the wine connection shaped the distillery's habits, above all its reliance on Spanish sherry casks for maturing a heavy, Scotch-style spirit.